5 Best Swim Fins

Due to the many variations in swimming requirements and personal preferences, it's difficult to come up a definitive list of the 5 best swim fins. The following fins stand out from the rest of the pack, however, and can all be considered at the top of their category.

The 5 best swim fins are divided into the following five categories:

Luxury

Value

Adjustable Strap

Full foot

Speed

Overall Best

Luxury:Mares Instinct Pro Polytec Spearfishing Dive Fins. These swim fins are fast, sleek, and powerful. They're a bit on the expensive range, but you'll be comfortable, fast, and pretty stylish. Because they were originally designed as warm-water scuba fins, you're sure to get a lot of power for your money.

Value:Aeris Velocity Full-Foot Swim Fins. The best value comes from these semi-flexible fins. Though you'll get less power than the Mares fins, you still have a huge increase in snorkeling power. Additionally, these fins come in bright colors that enable your swim buddies to easily identify you from others in the crowd.

Adjustable Strap: Mares Raptor Split Fins. Designed for situations where you'll be swimming with boots, these open heel fins are specially made to reduce exertion while maintaining extremely high power and comfort. If you decide to make the plunge into full-fledged SCUBA diving, these swim fins are an excellent way to go.

Full Foot: Oceanic Vortex v6 Full Foot Fins. Powerful, comfortable, and colorful, these fins will get you going with ease. Like the other full foot fins, these are designed for warmer water and will provide a huge benefit to your swim profile. Again, the bright colors will help with group identification, or grab the translucent fins and help to avoid confusion out of the water!

Overall Best:Mares Avanti Superchannel Full Foot Fins. While more powerful and higher-end fins exist, none are quite so appropriate to the swim fin consumer as the Mares Avanti Superchannel Full Foot Fins. These fins are designed to be useful in all warm water conditions, from choppy and surge-heavy waves to glass-smooth surfaces. These fins are as useful underwater as they are over water, and with a swim fin like this, you can't really go wrong.